Hellsing: Light of the Angels
by Calzer Dan
Summary: Gabriel suddenly appears outside the church at Cheddar, not knowing where he is, why he's armed, or why there's a vampire priest in front of him with an army ghouls... things don't improve from there. Mostly follows the OVAs, with some TV series elements, several OCs, including some of the villains, Rated M for smut, horror, language and violence. Read & Review, please, and thanks
1. New Boss, Old Job

Outside the sleepy village of Cheddar, a man in a long red duster preambles through the darkness, he observes the full moon high in the sky with leering grin of bestial fangs, "What a lovely night for a drink." He knows exactly where he can find a suitable drink for his unique needs and tastes. His pupils narrow beneath his red sunglasses…

_BANG!_

"FREEZE," Seras screams into the small chapel near the village of cheddar. The interior is shrouded in impenetrable darkness only the light of moon illuminates the central aisle to the altar where a priest kneels in prayer, or at least appears to be…

Sir Integra walks calm along with her butler Walter in tow, through a police cordon around Cheddar to the command tent. She slips a cigar between her lips and finds a lighter already burning the end that has been cut. She takes a long, nonchalant drag and flicks away the ashes casually. Once she enters the tent and beholds the shambles that the local police have made of the situation… she lets out a sigh and roles her piercing blue eyes, _always the one who have to clean up the mess, _she thinks bitterly. "Inspector," she says sharply, "Status report," she demands, more than requests.

A man in his early sixties responds, "Uh, we've sent in everything we had, but nothing has worked, we recently lost contact with the D-11 armed response unit."

"That is because they are all dead," she says in her velvety contralto voice, while taking another long drag. "What's worse is that they were all killed by a vampire, so more than likely they have been resurrected as ghouls; mindless, undead slaves bound to the will of their murderer."

The Inspector and all others in attendance stared at .Her in horror, except Walter who simply stared over her shoulder, "That can't be possible, you're lying!"

"I assure you I am not, I am here to take control of this operation, as we speak one of our best agents is currently en route to deal with the problem."

"Won't he be killed?"

"No, you see, the best way to deal with a vampire is to use another more powerful vampire, our agent is one such vampire. So gentlemen I assure you the situation will be resolved very imminently." She says with a cocked eyebrow and serene smile…

The man in the crimson coat emerges from the woods to see a figure sprinting from a chapel in the middle of a green field. _Foolish humans, they couldn__'__t be relied on to deal with a single rotten ghoul, _he thinks caustically. Hot on her heels are a group of humanoids with glowing purple eyes and a priest in a black cassock. A cruel sideways smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth. The figure, a young woman falls at his feet.

The priest seems to blur for a moment and suddenly appears about a foot from the crimson coated stranger, "I see you have-" the stranger disappears in a flash of light and in his place a man in a black trench coat, trousers and muscle shirt replaces him. He glances around himself anxiously and almost instantly fixes his gaze upon the vampiric priest and his hostage. He stares at the priest without a trace of fear, despite the ghouls and the priest's vampiric nature. _A vampire? Well, it__'__s always good to keep your skills sharp, _he muses with a genuine lack of interest.

"Who are you?" The priest asks

"Gabriel," the man replies curtly. "Please, let go of the girl."

"No, I think she'll make a fine addition to my ghouls, I would have made her into my own apprentice but, alas, the little bitch tried to kill me, can't have disloyalty in my followers, you know," the priest licks the girl's neck salaciously. "Instead I will ravage her and turn her into a ghoul! Mwahahaha!"

Gabriel rolls his eyes, "Just so long as its female you'll have it?" _To his credit, the girl at least looks legal,_ Gabriel notes to himself

"Oh-"

"So the altar boys get it too?"

"Agh!"

"Which is it?"

"Why are you asking this?"

"I sweep streets of curs like you on a daily basis, I make my money on the foolishness of mortals seeking immortality by any means necessary, and the demons who facilitate their idiocy… at a…small _price_," he begins to steadily advance towards the priest, splaying his hands, two flashes appear at the end of sleeves, and two very large machine pistols appear in his hands. The priest has visibly shrunken behind the girl, while she stares in simple terror at the verbal barrage.

The priest quickly finds the courage(or cowardice) to slither back behind his ghouls. Gabriel mutters a phrase in an arcane tongue.

He click his fingers.

The ghouls open fire.

A breathless Hellsing soldier bursts into the command tent shouting, "Alucard has disappeared!"

"What?!" Integra's collected expression drops for a moment.

"He's gone, disappeared right in a flag of light, and an unidentified man has taken his place!"

Integra snarls, "That's not possible!"

"Our UAV circling the area caught it on camera, we can show you the recording."

"Sir Integra, perhaps we should be more concerned about what is happening right now," Walter interjects in his usual calm voice.

"Right you are, Walter."

Walter walks over to a computer monitor and types in a few commands and soon the surveillance feed directly from the Hellsing drone is being fed to the computer. "What in God's name…" Integra's jaw slackens and her half-smoked cigar falls out. Before her is a semi-circle of ghouls, the vampiric priest they've been hunting, the last surviving member of D-11 and a man in black long-coat standing behind a wall of bullets that simply hang in the air.

Walter looks at the soldier, "Are you sure that Alucard simply didn't take on a new body?" Recalling how in World War II Alucard had a rather different appearance.

"I don't think Alucard can stop bullets dead in mid-air, sir."

Walter turns back to Integra, "Sir Integra?" The police men all look bewildered and fearful.

"Alucard has never shown telekinetic abilities as far as I know. Bring this man in, I want him questioned."

"As you wish, Sir Integra."

Gabriel gives the most soul destroying look of apathy to the priest, "That all? I expected more." He lets the spent rounds fall to the ground, and levels his best evil eye.

Through all this the ghouls have reloaded, and Gabriel's gaze snap to the last one as it chambers its first round. "Shit!" is all he can say before the ghouls open fire again. The hail of bullets tear through him, ripping him apart, after several seconds of intense fire, the storm ceases.

The priest grins maliciously… until a bitingly cold wind blows through the field, carrying Gabriel's mocking laughter. His former body disintegrates into a fine white dust and gets swept up in this breeze, slowly it coalesces back into Gabriel's body, with a wicked, condescending grin, "Good as new!" he jeers, as he raises his pistols.

He pulls the triggers. He swings the guns in every direction, sending chunks of meat and sprays of blood all over the place until he suddenly stops, he gazes about himself with his arms crossed and his guns held laterally, _70 ghouls left_, he ejects his nearly spent magazines and slams down on two fresh ones. "ROUND TWO!" He screams, before continuing to rip the remaining opposition into meaty, bloody confetti.

The final ghoul drops, and Gabriel points one pistol at the priest's face and the other at his heart. "Your move," Gabriel says with a confidence bordering on arrogance.

The priest hesitates, Gabriel surmises he's assessing his options. Gabriel tilts his head as he stares the priest down impatiently, "Well?" he asks expectantly. The priest grins leering, opens his mouth and sinks it straight into the girls neck. Gabriel adjusts his aim and sends two shots straight into the priests head. He then holsters his pistols the same way he drew them.

The priest is blown away, falling several feet from where he stood. The girl simply falls where she stands, blood pouring from the bite wound in her jugular. "I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough, I don't have sufficient skill in healing, but I can do this," she whimpers, "I promise you'll be better than ever when I'm done." She looks up at him with pleading, desperate eyes. Gabriel sighs and swallows stiffly. "Here we go." He says softly as his hand begins to glow a bright, pure white, he pushes it right into her chest. Instead of hitting her sternum, it passes through and the girl's eyes and mouth open and begin to glow the same white as Gabriel's hand. Both she and Gabriel begin to quake as the magic flowing from Gabriel to the girl pours directly into her soul and awakens it, coaxes it to reveal its name. It obliges as she begins to rise off the ground, Gabriel shifts his position accordingly.

Once she's in line with Gabriel's waist, her eyes and mouth open as far as they can go, the glowing in them ceases and blinding flash erupts from her chest. She falls back down to the ground, passes out, and he tumbles backward, both with a soft thump. Gabriel huffs.

"HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD NOW!"

"ON YOUR KNEES!"

"WEAPONS ON THE GROUND NOW!" _Fucks sake, _he obliges the loud, disembodied voices. _Fucking cops. _About forty soldiers burst from the woods, all trailing guns on him.

Gabriel sees a young woman and what he assumes to be her butler. Gabriel notes her appearance, _blonde hair, dark skin and blue eyes? Where were her parents from? _She moves with grace and class that Gabriel long assumed lost upon the world_ "_Madam," Gabriel says with a courteous nod.

"Who are you and what have you done with Alucard?" she demands in a refined accent and contralto voice.

"I am Captain Gabriel Sinclair, Senior Field Agent of the New York Templar Precinct, and I was sitting in my apartment with a few friends, about to have a nice movie marathon, when all of a sudden I was transported here, with my guns!" He stares her directly in the eye. _I need your number, _he thinks to himself.

She turns to her butler, "Walter, what do you think?"

"I don't know, he unflinchingly looked you in the eye, so he might be telling the truth, or he might be a consummate liar, I find it hard to decide which."

"Hmm, all right, I'll assume you've told me the truth for arguments sake, what are you and where did you learn those tricks?"

"I'm a cambion, an angel/human hybrid, the speed is an inbred ability, as is the regeneration. Revealing the girl's true name is something I learned a long time ago. My job was hunting demons, angels and their servants, I still do if the threat is tough enough."

"What do you mean by that?" the butler asks.

"I'm a thousand years old, I've been killing the supernatural for about nine-hundred-eighty of them, all my abilities surpass even an Ascended Human, and my magic is stronger than anything short of another cambion."

Gabriel notices that the butler is regarding him with frown, "Sir Integra, perhaps we should be pragmatic, with Alucard gone, we have no one else with his capabilities."

_Sir? Why is she __"__sir__"__? It should be __"__dame__"__. _"Yes, how fortuitous, we'll take him in, question him, put him through selection, present him to the Round Table, and then maybe he could replace Alucard."

"I'll take it."

"What about this young woman, what was her name?"

"Seras Victoria, my lady."

"Thank you, Walter, what is her condition? We saw that the priest bite her, then you did, well, whatever you did…"

"I unlocked her Soul Name, it is sort of like the true name concept, unlocking it cures all disease or curses. The experience is quite exhausting, not to mention she was wounded before hand, so I'd give it a week before she wakes up."

"Can't that be used to-"

One of the soldiers screams, and blood gets sprayed across several trees. A quadrupedal beast that appears to be a reptilian/hound hybrid crawls out and starts snarling and snapping at the three in the field, acidic saliva dripping from its lips. Gabriel hops to his feet and dashes away. The beast follows him. The other soldiers try to shoot it, to no avail. Integra looks down and sees that Gabriel's guns are gone. _How__…__? _Integra frowns

Gabriel spins on his heel and draws a very large pistol with "The Duelist" engraved on the side. "See how a face of silver-tipped .50 BMG feels." Gabriel shouts as he pulls the trigger and a thunderous crack resounds throughout the landscape, Gabriel arm flies back from the recoil, even with the muzzle break and compensator. The beast's head explodes as the massive shot ploughs through it. _Why is there a Hellhound here? _Gabriel questions with concern. _One of the Hounds of Moloch as well, I hunted and killed them and their master during the American Revolution, and during the Confluence. If he__'__s back__… __We__'__re in for a maelstrom of shit. _Gabriel begins sprinting back the way he came.

Integra, Walter and her men immediately set off after Gabriel and the creature. "What do you think that was?" Integra asks Walter.

"I don't know, Sir Integra, but our new friend seems to, and here he comes now.," Walter responds in his usual level voice. Integra looks over to Gabriel's bright white hair, and black attire rapidly approaching her.

"Dame-"

"**Sir**!" Integra corrects sharply.

Gabriel huffs, "Sir Integra, vampiric priests with superiority complexes are the least of your worries."

Integra cocks an eyebrow, "How so?"

"That was a Hellhound of Moloch, an extremely powerful Archdemon of Destruction. He killed twelve men and women under my command last time I saw him, took me four days and three towns getting levelled to kill him and his followers, plus intervention of the National Guard," Gabriel locks eyes with Integra.

"Is it possible to examine the body to determine its origin?" Walter asks.

"Yes, it was brought over, body and soul, to this world from Hell. You'll need a truck though, a metric tonne is small for a Hellhound of any kind."

Integra nods. "Right, I think we are done here, begin clean up operations and arrange for an APC to bring Gabriel back to Hellsing manner for questioning ."

"What about Seras?" Gabriel asks. "According to Templar regulations I'm responsible for her now."

"What would that include?"

"Training her to control and harness her new abilities. Plus, people will start asking questions about how strange occurrences start up when she is around, need I saw more?"

"Perhaps it would be best, if Gabriel is telling the truth, to bring her in and let him train her, at the very worst we'll simply wipe her memory and send her away, at very best she could become a powerful weapon in our mission," Walter suggests.

"Fine, we'll accept her, but she is Gabriel's responsibility, understood?" Integra glares steely at Gabriel.

"Crystal," he responds with a nod.


	2. First Mission

Gabriel POV

A week, a week has passed and Integra still has me cooped up in an interrogation cell. They've hooked me up to a lie detector twice, perp sweated me thrice and had four different psychoanalysts examine me.

I still haven't even been put through the selection process yet, not that I'm worried about that, should be a breeze. I'm more worried about the girl, Seras, she'll be waking up soon. Integra will have to let me out then. I rub my eye… anyway.

I hear the door opens and the butler enters with a sheet of paper, "Mr. Dornez, what can I do for you, this fine day, or night, what time is it actually?"

"Sir Integra wishes to speak with you, you're to move into the trainees barracks to begin training along with Ms. Victoria, when she wakes." Walter places a sheet of paper down in front of me, I snatch it up and begin to read it over, a grin spreading across my face. "You're free to go, I wish to formally invite you into the Hellsing Training Program." He offers his hand

I take it, "It's an honour, now could you please show me to the infirmary, I would like to visit Seras."

"Of course, this way," He leads me out of the cell and up the corridor.

On the way to the hospital wing Walter describes the present situation, how they've encountered more demonic foes, and how vampire activity has dropped off into oblivion. Hellsing has been keeping a cap on things, but it's about to blow off completely, even with my advice. I suggest (for the third time already) that I can use magic as a means to bolster the troops fighting ability, bring them much closer to that of the demons. Walter says that Integra considers it necessary, but that it will have to be ratified by the Round Table, the ominously vague council that seems to oversee all of Hellsing's activity. Sounds like they're more into tradition than killing shit, bad stance when your organisation is dedicated towards killing shit. The Templars did get swallowed up like this once or twice, but that invariably to the organisation taking heavy losses and a major reshuffle and reorganisation taking place.

Eventually we reach the infirmary, or rather hospital. It's contained within its own building on the far side of Hellsing Estate. Beyond that it (of course) has the latest in medical toys, and that's about it. Same white walls, same toxic smell of disinfectants, same stagnant air, and same pattern of doctors and nurses going about their daily duties. Several personnel stop to have a good gawk at me as we pass. He leads me to a single-person ward where Seras lies in her coma.

"How has she been?" I ask as I look in through the window.

"Life signs have been normal, brain wave activity has been interesting, a lot of very erratic readings, lots of REM, far more than a normal human is capable off. There is one other think of note; her cells have been altering themselves at a genetic level and she shows no outward signs of vampirism." So this place has a connection to Limbo.

"That's normal, that's the new found power normalising in her body, the cells are rewriting themselves to accommodate the magic her body must now bear. I wouldn't be concerned. May I enter?"

Walter nods, "You may." I open the door gently. I observe the myriad tubes that leave her body and run up into the many machines that are keeping her alive. I check the marks on her neck, they've all faded to nothing, excellent. Just then her eyes flutter open and she moans, then jerks when she sees me by her bed staring down at her. I place my finger to my lips and look at Walter, who then dashes away to find a nurse.

"Where, where am I?" she asks weakly.

"The medical facility of the Hellsing Agency, you were brought here after you went into a coma-"

"You had something to do with that," she interjects astutely.

"Yes, do you remember the priest biting you in the neck?"

"Yeah…"

"What happened next?" Let's see how much she remembers.

"I remember you sending your hand through my chest," I nod, "then I felt… something awaken inside me and a rush of something I can't describe it."

"It's okay, no one can, the soul communicates through abstractions that are beyond mortal linguistic comprehension. What you felt was your soul awakening to its fullest, it 'told' you its name, and you gained incredible power from it. It was the only way to cure the infection that priest was spreading."

"What kind of infection?"

then

"It was-" Walter, a nurse and… Sir Integra enter into the ward, "vampirism."

Seras gasps, "They're real?"

"Yes, and an ever present threat to mankind. Look I'll explain the rest in due course, you need to rest, think about what I just said. When that's settled in, We'll take some more, okay." She nods meekly. I leave the room and the nurse enters

Integra gives me her usual indifferent stare, "What have you told her?"

"Just what happened, where she is and that vampires are real."

"That's all?" Integra cocks an eyebrow.

"She's still quite weak, however the worst is past, in a day or two she'll be fit for duty."

"Very well, I'll alert your drill instructor that you to begin training today," Integra says authoritatively.

"Did the plans change, mademoiselle?"

"Indeed, it seems that demons are our new worst enemy. You say you can stop them? I need to know your physical capabilities first."

"Of course I will be there ASAP."

About thirty minutes later I'm geared up in black tracksuit bottoms and a white t-shirt, in the firing range with a variety of guns in front of me and a grizzled instructor standing to my right.

"All right, let's what you've got. Start with the Baretta and work your way up. I do as he says and pick it up. I haven't used a firearm this small since Vietnam. I pull back the slide and aim it down the range at target outline of a human body.

I squeeze off a few, one to the head and two over the target. "Good shot," the instructor says with a smile.

I scowl, "I missed my target, I aimed for the chest." I line it up again, and I fire four shots in rapid succession, each hitting the heart with minimal spread. "Gotchya!"

"That was incredible…"

"About six hundred years live-fire practice makes the range a piece of cake. What's next?"

"The P90…"

"I always liked these."

This assessment drags on for the rest of the day, and by the end, my instructors were more tired then I was. We cycle through an obstacle course, always good fun, and an assault course, they even let me use my pistols, YAY! Then they drag me out to the woods, and make me do the uninspired physical, push-ups, squats, sit-ups, crunches, chin-ups, you name it. I maybe _technically _retired, but I still love my trips to the gym.

Later on that evening, after having a shower and changing into a Hellsing uniform I was furnished with. Currently I stand before Integra's majestic desk in her cavernous private study. I cast my eyes around the room, with a sad feeling. Great bookshelves line the walls… no fair. "Gabriel!" Integra snaps

"Pardon me," I bow, "I couldn't help but admire your collection."

I get a small smirk, "Thank you, it has taken many years to create it. Enough small talk, we have business to attend to. You seem to have passed all tests with flying colours."

"Thank you, Sir Integra."

"In fact, only Alucard could outdo your results."

"I think that the selection process was… rather rushed, not to sound condescending, but… I found little challenge in a shortened test for normal humans."

"Indeed, the normal three day course had to be abandoned, recent events are proving difficult to control."

"I know, Walter said you guys were having trouble with keeping the peace. I should also explain my abilities and powers, and how far they go."

"Oh really, how far exactly?"

"To the point ending existence as we know it."

"And you casually carry this power around with you?"

"No, I have a system of magical restraints that prevent me from using my full powers all the time."

"Why?"

"Back home Templars couldn't use magic in the open, it would draw attention, not to mention cause excessive collateral, and property damage," Integra rolls her eyes as she lights up a cigar, "also as I said my full range of powers extends to causing the Apocalypse, I voluntarily bound my power into four restraints, labeled Alpha, Epsilon, Gamma and Omega, from weakest to strongest."

"Who controls these restraints?"

"I do, with oversight from my superiors, they leave it up to my judgement, however they don't approve of overkill. As a rule Alpha is for run of the mill missions like our friend from Cheddar. Epsilon is for combat with lesser-to-mid level angels and demons. Gamma is for when demons or angels attack in force. Omega fully unleashes my power, I can't stay in that form for long as it causes tears in reality in the surrounding area, but when it's required it will most likely be the Apocalypse."

"What are your powers to begin with?" Walter asks.

"You know about the regeneration, of which I have two 'lives' left, the strength and speed, plus the shield wall I put up. I can phase through solid matter and turn invisible, too, a school referred to as "Ghosting", these plus a couple of other spells are Alpha level. Epsilon grants enhanced versions, plus a limited form of flight and a few . Gamma allows me to summon my Host, and I gain the ability to conjure swords energy and use them as projectiles."

"Host?"

"My personal army of lesser angels, archangels are Yahweh's personal generals, when I defected, I brought the bulk of my forces with me."

"How many?"

"Current roster stands at ten thousand, however they can't all be in the same area for similar reasons as I can't stay in Omega form for long."

"And Omega?"

"I release all my power, nothing new, instead I gain the true extent of what I have. Pray that I never have to use it."

"Hmm, so the Templars valued these abilities?"

"Yes, if an archdemon shows up, another being go equal status is the only way to stop it, short of a nuclear strike."

"That goes for you too?"

"Sort of, my body can be destroyed, but I'll simply pass on, like any other soul, then I can come back in a new body after a century, roughly, then twenty-five years give or take, before I'm ready to fight again, or do anything else for that matter. Unless I release Omega, then your gonna need an archdemon or archangel." I feel bad for Integra, what with me talking at her with all this information. Though to my surprise, her usual collected visage is betraying a certain satisfaction, no smiles, no Integra is too… proper for that In her eyes, however, there is a glint.

"You might just be useful to us," Integra says with a dashing of approval. "Report to the barracks, you'll be under the command Captain Smith of A Company for now. I will decide on a more permanent position for you after a few missions, based on recommendations of Captain Smith, and your performance, understood?"

"With clarity, ma'am."

"You better report to your new Commanding Officer, there's been reports of a series of bloody murders, they al follow the same pattern, almost like they're sacrifices."

I salute her, "Understood, ma'am." I turn and walk out the door.

Three hours later…

"Gabriel, you're our point man for this," Captain Smith says in a thick Cornish accent.

"Understood, sir."

"You're with Squad Alpha, taking the front, Bravo is going through the back, multiple snipers are in position to eliminate any escapees that slip through your grasp." He's thorough. I look at the apartment building we're assaulting, plans indicate that there's a basement. Cultists are performing their rituals in that room, as far from prying eyes as possible. Crying shame that I can feel the magic being emitted. "There's a case in the APC with your name on it." I frown

I walk over to the boxy vehicle and find a very long case lying just inside the passenger compartment. I extract it and open it.

I can't help but smile, I pull out my rifle. I grin at it like child with their favourite teddy bear. My beloved Leviathan, an automatic anti-material rifle, proprietary Templar design, superficially derived from the XM500. Perfect for killing the supernatural. I dump the measly MP5/10 that Hellsing had given me and swap it for the Leviathan, taking the ten magazines that are with it.

I insert a magazine, and cock it.

_CHACK—CHLACK, _ohhh yeah, "I feel your hunger sweetheart," I whisper to it, with a satisfied smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. God, how I missed you.

I hook up with my squad, my CO explaining the plan of attack, "We're heading into the basement, with the FNG," he notices my entrance, and with wide-eyed shock at the monster of a rifle in my arms.

"Private Gabriel Sinclair reporting for duty," I hold up my rifle, "you'll need the firepower."

"Eh, okay… did Sir Integra approve this?"

"

"Rules of Engagement?"

"No survivors." I nod, as it should be, those cultists threw their lot in with demons, they can rot with them in hell for eternity. The squad readies weapons and creeps up to the front door, my squad leader has his finger to ear, talking with Squad Bravo. "Okay, Gabriel, make the breach." I pull out one of my pistols and shoot out the lock and nudge it open. I switch the lights on and check my corners with inhuman speed.

Oh dear, fucking, merciful, Christ

_drip… drip… drip… drip… drip_

A pile of mangled bodies lies in the centre of the lobby, with their entrails and blood splattered across the room. I can see a couple of children among the cadavers, the agony of they demise forever carved into their faces…

Enough, need to focus. I head straight for the staircase to the basement with the rest of my squad. The magic is growing stronger with each passing moment, it fills the nose like the smell of death, almost makes one gag.

"Watch the walls, demons like having traps, buzz saws and chainsaws are particular favourites," I say, the others take my advice as the hallway turns from plastered walls, to a veined, almost organic stone, coloured deep crimson. The blood is dripping downwards in great globs and then returning to the ceiling. "What have they done here?"

"Magic, it bends the laws of reality, and can destroy it," I say over my shoulder. I can hear voices in my head, simple repeated phrases.

"What is that?" one of the soldiers asks.

"The ritual in progress, it's the demon language," I answer. I can see a large door approaching, and a groove in the wall. I hold up my hand and the squad stops. "What is it?"

"Trap." I say. I jab out the barrel of my gun into the path of a groove and a circular saw flashes through and bounces off the weapon. "See what I mean." We pass through it without hindrance to the door.

I nudge it open. The corridor beyond is radically different from the first one, "You are no longer on planet Earth, you're in a zone where Earth and Hell overlap." I can feel how everyone behind me almost seizes up, "Check your corners, keep your wits about you, and if anything moves that you can't identify as Hellsing, shoot it 'til it drops then shoot it again. Radios are also useless." I get several shckoed gasps, "Telepathy still works, better call this in." My squad leader gets on the

We creep along the corridor with our weapons at the ready. The organic stone shifts further and further into biological territory, the floor becoming slick with some sort of bodily excretion, the lights almost give way to dim torches. Flashlights flicker to life to compensate.

Eventually, soft growling chewing noises start echoing down the corridor. "What is that?"

"Something small, not exactly sure what," I say quietly. We continue onward towards the chanting and chewing.

A little while longer, my flashlight lands on a small, sickly, pasty humanoid body hunched over a human corpse. It's black stiletto fangs jut out at unnatural angles, with a blackish-purple tongue dancing over its hellish maw. "It's a homunculus. There's never just one, expect at least a dozen to come leaping out from the shadows." I say as I raise my rifle and blow it away with a single shot. Sickly green gore erupts all over the walls and floor behind it, which then absorbs it as sustenance. The soldier beside looks like he's about to wretch. I place my hand on his shoulder, I channel some magic into it. His skin gains a little colour and looks a little less morose. "Cheers, mate."

"No problem, this takes months, if not years to get used to."

"Eh, Sergeant, what's that?" Clattering and scuttling come from further down the corridor. We all raise our weapons…


	3. New Apprentice

Out of the darkness they crawl, infernal beasts from the deepest pits of Hell. Not just homunculi, but Hellions, the infernal foot soldiers with horrific blades that are on of their arms, and a couple of Hellhounds too. "Drop 'em," the squad leader shouts.

We all open up and slice through the encroaching mass of hellish forms. Our silver rounds reducing them to slivers of meat. I let my partially spent mag slide out and ram a fresh one home.

Once we're sure that the fiends are dead, we continue. The chewing noise has stopped but the chanting is getting louder, and it's beginning to grate on our ears if the level of complaint is anything to go by. To me, it's the worst sound imaginable, take some drag gin fingernails across a chalkboard and feed that through a sound distorter, and you're only half to how bad it feels for an angel to hear this chant.

In our steady advance we stumble a few more Hellions, and a few human cultists, cowardly bastards who sold their soul for immortality. The catch, you gotta steal life from others, through their blood.

Our lights come upon a wooden door that seems to be covered in an ever glistening film of blood, this must be the main ritual chamber. Indeed, that fucking chanting has reached levels and at this point I'd rather see Miley Cyrus naked than stand another minute of this shit. Hell, even Twilight would be an improvement. The squad leader starts barking orders, and we form up ready to breach the door. "Anything else we should know?" squad leader asks, I need to get his name.

"Are silver bullets standard issue?"

"Yep," he responds.

"Point and shoot." Two guys fix breaching charges to the door and we blow. We take a few steps back. We blow the charges, we surge forwards into the cavernous chamber. In the centre on a pillar of rock surrounded by a deep and wide gap, stands around twenty men and women in a circle, in the centre is a eldritch fiend with soft, light purple skin, and long flowing deep blue hair and dark leathery wings sprouting from his shoulders. They continue the ritual, and the ten of us look around to see Hellions and more cultists closing in on us, we form a semi circle to the door and raise our weapons.

"In the name of God, impure of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation, amen," the squad leader recites.

"Amen!" We all respond, before opening fire. The Hellions fall like chaff, but the cultists take quite a lot more to put down. One even takes six shots from my rifle, this thing can reduce a human to pink slime in one burst.

Thing is, more of the fuckers keep coming, and dropping, and coming. How many have they got. I continue pick out and blasting the toughest of them with Leviathan.

After another few minutes of furious fighting, the last of the demonic bastards falls. "Report!"

"Almost dry, sir!" and variations there off are the standard response. I've still got two mags left, sixty rounds in all, I reload and turn my attention to the ritual. A dark, and opaque forcefield surrounds them.

"What is it?" One of the soldiers asks.

"A barrier."

"Easy, releasing control restraints Alpha, Epsilon and Gamma," I say, a tattoo of a four pointed star begins to glow and three points of it vanish. I feel the unleashed power coursing through my veins, and my wings appear on my back. I scream out in ecstasy. When it finishes, I'm panting and the demon conduction the ritual is watching my with an expectant grin. I stare at him with cold hatred.

He drifts across the gap and lands about threes metres from me. "Gabriel, long time, no see."

"Kashtak, I thought you were impaled six times by Vanessa during Confluence."

"Yes, that Nephilim bitch did a good job with that crossbow of hers." She is quite lethal with that thing. A smile tugs at my lips as I remember the days I spent teaching her to accept being half-angel half-demon and reconciling that with a Fundamentalist Christian background, and she turned out to be lesbian, fun times.

"I think it was a little too good for you."

"Haha, ever the joker of the archangels, anyway; enough talk," shadows coil around his hand and a black-bladed sabre appears, "I think it would please my master to have slain the Messenger of God!"

The squad looks at me with shock. I respond, "Pity, I heard Vanessa killed you without trying, she was twenty-six at the time and I'm over a millennium old… I think the math is simple," I say dryly. "But if you insist." I conjure my own longsword, where the shining silver blade bursts out in bright white flames, his erupts in purple fire. "Let's dance!" We charge towards each other, our blades meeting in mid swing. I for the tip of his blade to the ground and punch him in the face with my left. He loses his balance falls to the ground.

I quickly bring up sword and make a jab for his stomach…

I find myself flying through the air. I spread my wings to steady myself, Kashtak soars up with his blade ready to make a stab. I send a wave of white energy at him, he deflects it harmlessly, but he stops and it throws his guard open. I dash for throw the air with my blade out stretched. A wave of shadow slams me to the ground. I feel the wind knocked out of me.

Kashtak stares down with the hubris I thought reserved for angels, "That whore caught me off guard, in an even match, it would have been a much fairer match if I knew that she was coming."

"That's what all egotistical assholes say when they can't accept losing," I snap back.

He scowls and growls through his teeth before sending a summoned blade of energy into my chest. The agony swells, it fades and blood starts pouring from the wound, pooling around me.

I begin to laugh, despite the pain. I begin howling with amusement. The blade dissipates. The wound heals itself and I stand back, completely unscathed…

"You think that'll kill an archangel?" I ask sardonically. I create two blades of hard light behind the demon and shoot them at his wings. They sever them magnificently and he falls face first into the ground. I walk over and grab him by the hair. "Where is Lucifer?!"

"Go fuck your traitor whore, Lilith!" I smash his face into the stone floor.

"My patients wears thin, asshole."

"I dunno where he is!" I use brush the surface of his thoughts, to my surprise he's telling the truth. "He gave me his orders through an intermediary, a young human with long blonde hair, he wore a white suit, I dunno his name!"

"What are you doing here?"

"Lucifer told us to open the Leylines!"

Oh, fuck… "That all."

"Yes, please, let me go."

"Good man, you can go know now." The demon changes into a handsome young man and begins to walk out.

"My orders were 'no survivors.'" I restore my restraints, raise my rifle, and shoot him through the back of the head. The forcefield drops and the cultists cease the ritual. They bar their fangs, the others don't look so concerned. They simply raise their guns and open fire, cutting them down relentlessly with what little they had left. The vampiric cultists are cut down instantly by the 10mm rounds. The Hellsing operatives cease fire and lower their guns. "You guys head on out, I'll destroy this place," I say to them.

"What if you don't make it out?"

"I'll activate the spell once we're outside, it'll a couple of minutes to set up." He nods and tells the squad to move out. I begin utter phrases in latin and sending runes to stick to the walls. Once I've got several dunce on each wall in the appropriate locations, I turn and leave.

Once I leave the basement I utter a final phrase, and I hear explosions behind me, they don't rock the building, they simply destroy the pocket dimension and the basement reverts back to what it was.

The next day…

I walk down into the medical wing at around midday and head towards Seras' room. When I reach it, Walter and Sir Integra (that one is still annoying me, a woman can't be 'sir', that's not how it works) are waiting for me, along with my new apprentice.

"Good day," I say to my boss and her butler.

I receive a nod and a bow from each respectively. "Hello, Ms Victoria."

"Hey, umm, you never mentioned your name."

"Gabriel Sinclair, I'm your new CO and mentor, I assume you've been briefed on your current condition."

"I have, yes, sir, when will be starting?" she asks eagerly

"Today, and by the way, call me Gabriel."


	4. Chains of Purpose

**A/N: I should have said this in the first chapter, but the I've set this one in the present day to make it easier for storytelling reasons. All characters are they're respective ages (except Walter, because of Hellsing: The Dawn, he's in his seventies instead)**

**Seras POV**

Two months into my service in Hellsing, two months of training with Gabriel, two months of pure hell. Up before dawn running then basic bodyweight exercise; breakfast after that, then magic lessons until mid-morning, marksmanship 'til lunch. Thinking about it is making me yawn. Though, I must admit, it's working, I no longer have the throbbing headaches that needed morphine to subside, this is apparently normal for those new to magic.

Though, I must admit that Gabriel is a fair teacher, he's rewards effort but crushes indolence, and knows when he's going to far, he said that I need to feel like hell but he won't send me there. I admit, he's stuck to it rigorously.

I lie on my bunk as these thoughts run through my head. Sir Integra, however she got that title I don't know, isn't sir the male one? Anyway, she says that our promotions might be a little sooner than anticipated as demons and vampires are attacking with a vengeance. She's only met a few of Hellsing's Agents, their most elite operatives who investigate supernatural occurrences and deal with as quietly as possibly. Apparently they lost their top agent during the Cheddar Incident, when Gabriel gave me this power, and no one can really replace him. Gabriel is trying to get into the vacancy. He says that he's the most likely candidate as a cambion with considerable experience.

The other guys seem pretty nice, they've been helpful and have shown me the ropes around the Hellsing Organisation. I hear a loud pounding at the door. We all look towards. I swing my legs and go get it. I open it and Gabriel stands outside holding the case with his rifle inside. He stares down at me, and I back up at him into the one emerald green eye that he keeps visible, while the other is covered by a dyed-black fringe.

"Hello, Seras, how are you?" he asks casually.

"Not to0 bad, what's up?"

"Integra has given us our first solo mission."

"Really?"

"A couple of young vampiric fools who think they are the new Bonnie and Clyde are tearing up the countryside. Sending a squad would be too visible and sending one of the other agents would be a waste of time."

"You mean Integra is lightening the grip on our leash a little?"

"Qui, just a little," he says with a confident smirk. "Come on, your gun's in the back of the car." He then looks at my uniform, "You might want to change, we need to be inconspicuous." He closes the door on me…

A couple of minutes later I leave the barracks building to find Gabriel outside sitting in a Mercedes saloon. I get it. "We're were given this?" I ask him as I put on my seatbelt.

"That's what I said to Integra and Walter. I like it, but, a Merc, for discretion… seriously?" I smile as he pulls out.

Leif looks down at me with a loving smile. Our lips meet and I feel his tongue force it's way into my mouth, as his hand slowly reaches down my back and clenches my ass-cheek, I break away and give him a coy look, "Ah, ah, ah, don't be naughty!" He smiles at me

_BANG, BANG, BANG!_

We both look at each with anxiety. Leif lets go of me and goes to the door.

"Who is it?"

"FedEx, got a package for a Leif Delaney and Jessica Garret, a gift from Integra Hellsing." says a young guy on the other side.

"Who?! I don't know anyone named Integra Hellsing, what kind of faggoty name is that exactly?!" Leif screams at the 'delivery boy'. I creep over and peer around the corner to see door kicked down and Leif sent flying into the wall behind him.

"The name of a lady, and my boss," the towering figure says as he steps through the ruined door, raising a massive pistol and shooting Leif dozens of times; leaving him as a bullet riddled husk with his blood everywhere. I notice Leif's gun at my feet, I reach for it and grab it, along with drawing my machine pistol. I aim both at him.

He shoots them both in my hand, destroying them. I drop them with my eyes wide with terror. I turn and sprint to the window and leap from it landing on a veranda and sliding down onto the driveway. Gotta get out of here. I start sprinting down the road…

Gabriel looks out the window at the fleeing vampire, "Seras, what do you think? Should we leave her?" he asks into his radio

"Uhhhhh, I dunno… orders are orders."

"You sure? Your call."

"Ehhh, I'll take the shot."

"Use the clairvoyance and ballistics spells I taught you."

Seras aims down her sights. The massive 13.7 anit-midians rifle trailed on the fleeing murderess. Seras reaches into herself to a well of power located deep in her very being, she draws on it and mutters a short phrase, and suddenly her sight is transported to following just behind the vampire. She then utters a second phrase and she finds her aim adjusting to account for distance, windspeed and movement of the target, she pulls the trigger.

The bang rings out through the countryside and the bullet sails through the air. Jessica hears it coming and screams as the shot tears into her chest and sends her sprawling into the ground.

"Excellent shot, come on, let's get home. Integra will be pleased."

It was early morning before we reached the manor, and I was exhausted. All along the way back I keep thinking about how he left the girl's life in my hands. I'm not sure whether I should ask him about it or not, was it a lesson, or did not want to make the decision? Screw it, for better or worse. "Gabriel, why did you leave it to me to kill the girl?"

"Glad you asked, I wanted to see if you could make the call, could you take her life when she was clearly defeated."

"We were ordered to kill them…"

"We were, but did she _deserve_ it?"

"I… dunno actually."

"But, you took the shot anyway, it is not our place to judge such things, we are just the executioner. It was a test to see if you could act pragmatically, as a criminal that feeds on humans exclusively, no prison could really hold such a being, to build one would be too costly not to mention how do we feed a horde of angry, hungry vampires? Staffing it as well and the list goes on."

"We don't."

"So, that leaves a single solution…"

"We kill them." He nods and he gets out at the main door, where Walter is waiting outside.

I get out and follow behind him. The two are talking, Gabriel does a take. He turns to me, "Integra wants to see us."

"Really?" I respond. He tilts his head and goes inside. I follow as quickly as possible. Gabriel adjusts his stride as I come along side him.

We walk down the Victorian Manor's hallways lined with portraits and paintings of hunting and country scenes.

"Apparently the Round Table is in secession as we speak."

"What do they do exactly?"

"They seem to our board of directors or something, I heard from a few of the other agents that they are also the 'real' British Government, along with the Queen." We ascend a grand flight of stairs up to the first floor and turn down the hallway to the conference room. He knocks on the door.

It is opened by a retainer by a servant and we are beckoned in. "Gentlemen, our second last point is the replacement of Alucard, since the Cheddar Incident, when he disappeared two months ago, we have been evaluating this man behind me, Gabriel Sinclair, and his apprentice, Seras Victoria, as potential replacements." Gabriel takes a stiff bow to the assembled council, and I follow suit.

"Yes, Sir Integra, in your reports you mention that they work well together well and perform their duties to the best of their considerable ability," the council member looks directly at Gabriel, "It also mentioned that you claim to be the archangel Gabriel, who has taken a human form, is that true?"

"Yes, my lord."

"We had him confirmed sane by four psychoanalysts, and we're interrogated him a total of five times, and he steadfastly stuck to his story, which he recounted in painstaking detail," Integra says in her usual sultry voice, my breath quickens.

"You said that you were born in Normandy?"

"Yes, under Duke Richard II in 1000AD, I was knighted by him along with my brother, Michael, in 1024 AD. We fought at Hastings under William the Conquerer in 1066, seeking to expand the influence of the order that is known today as the Templars."

"Templars, I thought they were a Militant Order."

"Indeed, we set that up to fund our operations, silver swords cost money, agents need pay for bed & board. This public face was destroyed, and we went underground, several agents, myself included, went back to France and killed those responsible. We spent the next few centuries combating demons in the shadows, until 2024, then an event called the Confluence was initiated. It is what you would call the Apocalypse or Armageddon. Rituals were conducted that caused Heaven, Hell, Limbo and Earth to merge together to a degree, allowing God and Satan to invade Earth directly. The Templars had long since planned for such an invasion and helped equip militaries around the world as well as fighting where we were needed most. We won on Earth and then we decided to finish the job, we went to Heaven and Hell and conquered both." The assembled council and me stare at him with amazement.

"The reports mentioned it but… I never though it was true…"

"Oh yes, my lords." They all look at each other.

The one sitting opposite Sir Integra speaks, "I have heard enough, it seems that Gabriel, despite the improbability of his story, is telling the truth. Alucard is gone and none of the other agents are able to replace him. I vote in favour of his promotion, all others in favour say 'aye."

Most of the Round Table, including Sir Integra, vote in our favour. I look over to see Gabriel smiling smugly to himself. "Finally," the aforementioned councillor continues, "There is the matter of the ritual you uncovered, you wished to bring this before us, Sir Integra?"

"Indeed, gentlemen, as you know from the after-action reports, several disturbing phenomena were discovered, the one being the 'pocket dimension' that the cult managed to set up in the basement of the Birmingham apartment building we raided. Gabriel has some idea to what is going on…"

"Thank you milady, I mentioned Confluence just a minute ago. The ritual just mentioned was to stabilise the convergence of the Four Worlds. Thankfully we intervened when the ritual had only stabilised enough to cover a large metropolitan area, at largest I'd say Tokyo. Angels and demons also prefer to target large population areas and centres of administration and government, going on that I'd say that the mostly point they'll try to attack is London, followed by Edinburgh and Cardiff, given that the rituals have so far only taken place on British soil."

"Do we know when?"

"No, neither can the process be aborted once it begins, only delayed. We don't need to worry about that area growing larger, That was the last of the anchoring rituals. Next they need time to build up sufficient power to tear the hole in reality that will allow them to come through."

"What if we kill those responsible?"

"I would, if I could, but… I don't know where Lucifer is, or Moloch either. Even if I did kill him, and any others tied to it, any archdemon or archangel worth his salt will leave behind instructions to allow someone else to continue what they started, and more likely, they'll have cells of followers planted throughout the world."

"Our only option is to let this happen?" Gabriel nods solemnly. Everyone in the room looks at each other with fear, even Integra is looking worried.

"I think we'll leave it at that, gentlemen," Integra says, putting out a mostly smoked cigarillo. "We shall adjourn for now. We shall meet again soon to discuss our plan of action should this "Confluence" event come to pass." The council members quickly agree this proposal, and quickly file out until only me, Gabriel and Integra are left. Integra slouches in her chair, lighting up another cigarillo. "I remember when all we had to deal with were vampires and the occasional werewolf. Since your arrival, we've been up to our teeth dealing with those that followed you."

"If it's any consolation, after the Confluence back home, I hoped that I would never have to face another invasion like this."

Integra gives a mocking chuckle, "It seems that we are never released from our bonds of service."

Gabriel manages a smirk, that quickly fades, "I've been fighting demons for a thousand years, I am tired of the war, no small part of my reason for defecting to humanity was to escape from the endless bloodshed. I succeeded, until… you know when. Then I hoped to never have to deal with it again… fate, the callous bitch, has conspired against me."

Another chuckle from Integra, "You may go now. Walter will show you to your new quarters." Gabriel bows and leaves, I follow him out. Walter is waiting outside.

"Sir Integra said you'd show us to our new quarters."

"Of course, Gabriel," he says cordially…


	5. Finally Settled In

**Integra POV**

The sun is just beginning to rise, a new dawn and one day closer to Confluence, to the inevitable war with our new enemies, the angels and demons…

I turn to Walter, who stands next to my voluminous desk, ever ready to accept orders. "I hope we are ready for this. If Gabriel is correct, then not even our Lord is by our side, instead his angels stand ready to turn our streets into rivers of blood."

"We do have one of his generals by _our _side however, Gabriel has demonstrated nothing but absolute loyalty to our cause," Walter says encouragingly.

"True, but will it be enough? One archangel against at least two archdemons and an unknown number of his former brethren. Those are not odds that I favour." I stare down ay my desk. My father always warned me about how hard this position is, but he never had to deal with the possibility of the world ending while under his stewardship…

"Sir Integra, I think it would be best to simply keep calm and carry on, as we have always done, meet each challenge with determination and defeat it with finality, again, as we have always done," Walter says with a confident smile. I have always admired his steadfastness, one of the few things that has kept me going is Walter's inability to fold. A model British gentleman as Father would say…

I get up from my chair and walk to the back window overlooking the elaborate gardens of the estate, the regimented rows of tree, and the serried ranks of bushes and shrubs always focused her mind, and it seems that Seras enjoys them as well. She is strolling quietly through them. The girl has hardly been hear a quarter of a year, and yet she shows such phenomenal promise, and in spite of everything she has seen and endured, she still remains upbeat and cheerful, like the sufferings of this world are nothing to her… it's been a while since I have had any feelings for anyone, I meet so few people my own age, never mind ones that share my unusual preferences. Something I've never really shared with many people either.

Even in this more progressive world, being open about such things would weaken her position at the Round Table. Old-fashioned husks, clinging onto the ghosts of the past, the time of the British Empire has past. What is it that we control exactly? A few Islands here and there, a political shit hole that we brought about ourselves through our own arrogance, Wales and Scotland, and even the Scots are campaigning for independence, and the Round Table is pushing to keep control, oh well, we'll see.

I continue to watch Seras as she wanders the gardens, she always seems to lose herself in the simple beauty of nature. She sniffs the flowers and gently strokes the leaves of the trees. Then I remember how she put down that young vampire Jessica, she made the choice, and took the shot. She doesn't seem to regret her choice… I wonder is it because she's in denial or if she genuinely saw the vampire as an animal? The first is never easy. Many agents say so, mine was too. Haunted me for months.

**Gabriel POV**

I sit out in the gardens with a cigarillo between my lips. I watch the clumps of cloud as they make their journey across the sky. I check my watch, midday, I sigh, Saturdays are so long. Still only getting established, pay is good, but not the small fortune I have back home. I shove my hands into my pockets, close my eyes, tilt my head and let the spring warmth bathe my face, while taking a long drag on my smoke. The only thing missing is an ice-cold Bud, or a glass of St Emelion, either will do.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

I open my eyes bring my head forwards. I almost drop my cigarillo from my mouth at the green-eyed redhead bombshell standing before me, "No," I respond. She smiles and sit beside me.

Neither is my bed, if ya want it. I take a final drag, chuck it on the ground and stamp it out

"Beautiful day isn't it?" I say, might as well make some small-talk.

"Yeah, we don't get them very often."

"Three days without rain is a drought in Seattle, trust me, I was there for about a year."

"Really?"

"Not really, though seemed like it a few times."

"Wait, you're the new guy, aren't you?"

I nod, "Gabriel Sinclair, your new Alucard."

"Anna Franklin, one of your fellow agents, a pleasure to meet you."

"Mademoiselle, the pleasure is all mine." She smiles sweetly and chuckles. I could listen to that forever.

Am I becoming infatuated? Hope not, dating a normal human can be problematic, agelessness and all that.

"Where is that accent from, exactly?"

"Paris."

"But, I heard you're from Normandy."

"Yeah, back when it was a nation unto itself. I changed my accent over time, part of maintaining a facade to prevent people from catching onto my immortality."

"So you had to completely abandon your friends?"

"No, most of my friends were Templars, I tried to keep it that way, still happened, and it hurt to let them go. One of the perks about being immortal. So what about you, what's you're story."

"Well… I was born in Essex, moved to London, parents sent me to public schools, read English Literature in Oxford, I graduated with a Masters on it."

I raise an eyebrow, "English Lit in Oxford? If I ever make it back to my world, and if I can somehow bring people back and forth, I need to show my library, you'll love it."

"Oh really, how big is it?"

"Huge, like if you combined Oxford's and Cambridge's libraries, you'd still fall short by a mile."

She gives me an impressed look, "I don't believe you."

"Let it be a surprise then." I look over towards the manor to see Seras coming towards me. "Ah, Seras, how are you?

"Good, thanks, Walter wants to see you, a few packages arrived for you."

I frown, I haven't been on Amazon since before I came here… ah, I'll go see what's it's about. A pleasure, Ms Franklin," I say nodding to her.

"Bye, talk to you soon," she responds with a smile. I smile confidently to myself as I walk away.

Seras leads me to one of the back entrances, where Walter stands with a few dozen boxes and a delivery invoice, he smiles when he looks up at us, "Ah, Mr Sinclair."

"Hey, Walter, what's all this?"

"Your's I believe. A truck from UPS arrived not half an hour ago and said that he had several boxes of things for you."

"I'd take you haven't opened any of it?"

"No, from the manifest it seems to be personal belongings."

Both Seras and I look as each other with confusion, "Let's crack 'em open and see." Walter takes a Stanley knife from a shelf and cuts the tape on a cardboard box and flips it open. He takes out a wallet, an American passport, and an envelope. I take all three, the wallet and passport are mine, and I open the envelope to find a set of keys to a Maserati and a set of BMW motorcycle keys. There's also a note that reads, "They'll be out front, and check your account balance."

Just then something starts vibrating, "Hold on a second," Walter says as he fishes out his cell phone, "Hello, how may I help?… Okay… Right… I'll tell him right now," he hangs up and puts it back in his pocket, "that was Sir Integra, apparently security are saying that there is a black Maserati sports car and a white BMW motorcycle parked outside the main entrance.

"Are you familiar with the concept of Deus ex Machina?"

"Using an unforeshadowed supernatural resolution to an apparently inescapable situation? Yes, why?" Walter answers.

"We just had another one, sort of… Well, I owned vehicles matching those descriptions so, might as well check it out."

I walk back in the front entrance of the manor, and they are mine, my Maserati Gran Turismo, and my BMW HP4, right down to extra armour placed on them for pursuits. Looks like I'm not heading home anytime soon. Seras is still gawking at them, apparently she can't believe that a Templar can have such luxuries, truth be told, most don't. I started making investments during the 1920s, because everyone was doing it. I made a few quick bucks, and took some honest advice and quit while I was ahead. Sold everything I had, and sailed through the Wall Street Crash without losing a penny. My brother, Michael always had a knack for business and strategising. Suppose that's why he made it to archangel before I did.

I find several of the domestic staff hauling the boxes from the delivery up the stairs, with Walter overseeing the operation. The man is damn near omnipresent in this mansion. My new phone buzzes in my pocket. A text from Integra, a new mission, alright, let's go.


	6. Bayonets are not Swords

**Gabriel POV**

Seras and I stand in Integra's office while Walter hands out a pair of dossiers, and there's a couple of leather-bound boxes. Seras is still in that ridiculous uniform she was issued a couple of months ago, complete with miniskirt and stockings, it perplexes me as to shy she wear such a thing, except when you're off-duty. I'm dressed in a pair of black slacks, a white shirt and black ankle-length trench coat

"You're next target is a vampire in the village of Badrick, Co. Antrim, standard fair, search and destroy. Report back when the mission is completed, expect a heavy ghoul presence. Walter?"

"Ma'am," He walks over to the boxes and opens them, "The Hellsing Arms .454 Casull Auto Crusader, the standard issue pistol for all agents, and we have one for each of you. The rounds are silver-tipped, made from the Silver Cross of Lancaster Cathedral."

I walk over to the black box and lift out my pistol and begin examining it. It's heavy for a pistol, nothing I couldn't handle, though. Seras is pouring over hears as well. The silver-coloured body and slide are exquisitely crafted, and the walnut grip is nothing short of art, though there is one thing, "This thing fires a revolver cartridge."

"The round fired by is a unique variant only used by the Hellsing Organisation, it is a rimless auto-loading round that is modified from the standard Casull." I nod.

"It's very large for a pistol," Seras says.

"The Casull is a big round, you kind of need it," I respond. "My compliments to the craftsman."

Walter bows, "Thank you, sir."

"You made these?" Seras asks. He nods, he then proceeds behind the desk and swings up a large case. Inside is a holster and ten spare, fully loaded magazines for us both. We both take them.

Integra looks out the window at the full moon outside, "You have your orders, now go, do your duty for Queen and Country."

"Yes, Sir Integra," I respond gravely.

Several hours previously, outside St Gabriel's Orphanage in Rome…

"Who started the fight?" Father Alexander asks.

"It was him!" Ezio points at Marco.

"Was not, you took it first!"

"Children, violence is never the answer, unless you're dealing with heathens or monsters. Now go, run along and play, don't let me hear of anymore fighting." The two kids run away to play elsewhere. Alexander looks away from them to see an Iscariot officer coming towards him.

"What can I do for you, father?" Alexander asks.

"We have a new mission for you," the Italian priest says. "There is a vampire that need dealing with in the village of Badrick, Northern Ireland. Be warned, you may encounter Hellsing operatives."

"May God have mercy upon their souls if I do," he responds with a maniacal grin.

"One other thing, Hellsing has a new agent, a replacement for Alucard."

"Oh really?"

"His name is Gabriel Sinclair, and so far he has proven to be every bit as effective as his predecessor."

"Not even Lucifer can stop the divine wrath of the Lord!"

"There in lies a problem, you see, all intelligence we have gathered thus far has pointed to this Gabriel as being _the _Gabriel."

"The archangel, the Messenger of the Lord, the one who delivered the news of Christ's birth to the Virgin Mary?"

"The very same."

"Impossible, an angel would never side with such heretics and blasphemers."

"Even still, be careful, you know where the archangels sit at the Lord's side."

Alexander growls menacingly, "I shall deal with this vampire and find the truth behind this man, Gabriel Sinclair, and if he is found wanting, may the Lord have mercy on his soul."

"Godspeed, Father Anderson."

In Badrick, several hours later…

Seras and I walk up to the boarding school where the vampire has fled with his ghouls. He's been a tough one, but we have him cornered. We approach the door.

"You ready," I ask Seras as she leans up against.

"Are you?" she responds.

"Cheeky," we both smile at each other. "You're taking point." she nods to me and I gently open the large wooden door. She bolts and I follow just after her. "Clear," I say as progress to a stairwell.

We creep up the stairs, "Hold up," I whisper. Seras stops "You hear that?" She nods, faint groaning is coming from the second floor door. I creep up and nudge open the door. I can see several ghouls wandering around the hall way and one gnawing on a human arm. "Ghouls," I say quietly back down to Seras. I conjure up my machine pistols, while Seras takes position beside me. I kick down the door, we both open fire, cutting down the ghouls in a hail of silver bullets. The rotting beasts are reduced to red mist and blood in moments. We continue down the hallway, check rooms and corners as we go. We split up, this is a clean up mission.

The smell of rotting flesh permeates the air, more of the bastards are near. I come up to corner and press my back against it and look around it. About ten more, I swing myself around and spray them with controlled bursts of fire, killing each one in turn with brutal efficiency. Once I reach the end, Seras comes around the corner. "All clear, Gabriel." I nod.

A groan, then more… about two dozen ghouls shamble around the corner towards us. Seras raises her pistol and empties and entire magazine into them, felling about a quarter. Then she pills out her combat knife, and stabs the nearest ghoul through the eye with a confident smile.

Suddenly, she launches into a flurry of attacks that leaves me in awe, she carves, slices and smashes her way through them, she only stops when the last has its entrails spread all over the floor.

Under normal circumstances violence doesn't do anything for me… by God it's doing something now, "Seras, my work is done." She turns to me panting and grinning.

Her chest is pierced with a silvery blade that glows blue at the edges… her smile fades as pain spreads across her face.

More blades impale her through the torso.

I'm left speechless, she'll recover, I don't know how quickly…

"Burn the witch, and stone the heretic, for they have fallen from God's good grace," a deep gravely voice with a Scottish accent. Hundreds of daggers pin pages to the wall as some sort of barrier…

Back in Hellsing Manor…

Walter nearly blows the doors to Integra's office, "Sir Integra, our Vatican intelligence officer has just sent word that Section XIII Iscariot has dispatched an operative to Northern Ireland, to Badrick."

"Who?!" she asks rather loudly, while getting up from her and slamming her hands onto her desk

"Father Alexander Anderson."

The cigarillo between her lips drops limply onto her desk, _Oh God, Seras is there. _She quickly regains her composure, "fetch me my gun, sword, a team of bodyguards and ready the chopper!"

In Badrick…

Seras falls to the floor, with her blood coursing out and mixing with that of the dead ghouls. Rage surges inside me. "YOU WANT TO KNOW THE WRATH OF THE LORD!" I scream at the top of my lungs as I swap out my machine pistols for the Duelist. I raise my left and rest my right in the crook, take aim and put a shot straight in the motherfucker's chest. The silver-tipped round tears through my target who then falls to the ground.

"Gabriel, get out of there; abort the mission," comes Integra's voice across my radio earpiece. She sounds extremely urgent.

"Seras is wounded, some crazy fucker in a cassock impaled her with… _bayonets?" _Longsword-sized bayonets. Seras is gasping and groaning in agony.

A long pause ensues… too long. Far too long

"It will take more than that to fell the Right Hand of our Lord." I gaze in wonder as the priest rises from the ground totally unscathed… how… he shrugged off a goddamned, fucking .50 BMG! Those things can rip through light armoured vehicles. "For has blessed me with the mission to rid this world of monstrous swine and heathen filth." A pair of bayonets shoot into his hands from his sleeves.

I moan, "More than a few assholes who claimed that end up dying rather young."

"I will gladly go to the Lord's side when he calls me."

"Right, I should probably tell you that I'm his messenger, or was." Those two bayonets are thrown straight into my shoulders, and I'm sent flying back then pinned to a wall.

"You're Hellsing's new pet?"

"You could say that. but I prefer the term 'bug exterminator', my job is to get rid of shits like you."

"Gabriel Sinclair, yes?"

"In the flesh, and you are?"

"Father Alexander Anderson, of Vatican Secret Division XIII Iscariot." I quickly dart my eyes to where Seras lay, she's gone, good. "I am the Scourge of-"

"Terrified Children in the Confessional." I reach up and pull out the blades in my shoulders without flinching or wincing, the wounds healing rapidly.

Anderson's green eyes flare in rage behind his spectacles, "How dare you-"

"Speak the truth? Oh, yeah… you bastards hate the truth, like how your god is a psychopath!" I begin to close the distance between us. The fucker pulls out another pair of blades from his sleeves. Is there, like a, pocket dimension in there somewhere? I'd wear myself out carrying that many longswords.

He lunges at me. I spring forward into him at inhuman speed. My fist sailing into the centre of his face before he swings his blades into my flanks. I barrel into his body and send him back against the wall behind him. I skid to halt half a foot in front of him. "If you need a break, there's a school about two minutes walk from here, Catholics might be a little scarce, ya know, since this is a Protestant country and all."

He grits his teeth and springs forwards again. I step aside and bring a haymaker up into his stomach, man's got nice abs. He topples and his blades go flying out of his hands. He springs back up onto his feet quickly, this one's tough. He crosses his arms over his chest, he throws them open…

FUCK… I find myself lying on my back with a great many of Anderson's bayonets sprouting like grass in a tuft from my torso, and my blood pooling out onto the floor behind me…

Seras hobbles along the wall, having extracted most of the bayonets from her body. Her agony is unbearable. She reaches around to her back and begins extricating the final blade. She winces, gasps and yelps as the bayonet comes free. She falls against a wall panting, as her wounds are healing. She's completely dumbstruck at the amount of blood she has lost, yet she still stands.

"Now for you, his little Babylonian harlot, prepare to feel the cold taste of the Lord's Vengeance, upon you heretical swine!"

Seras cowers below the titanic and looming form of Anderson, polished off with a psychotic grin, and a bayonet per hand

"Hold it right there, you Papist dog!" The two turn to see Sir Integra standing down the other end of the hallway with a pair of bodyguards. Seras sighs with relief.

"Ah, the chief Devil's bride herself, how are you Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, come here to surrender your life to the glory of the true Church?" Anderson asks with the same grin as he gave to Seras. He turns to face her

"I'm to know why you broke our treaty, Northern Ireland is a Protestant country, under the leadership of Her Majesty, the Queen of England!"

I conjure the will to pick myself up from the pool of blood, ignoring the agony that courses freely through my body. I begin pulling Anderson's blades out one by… "Agh!" agonising one…

"This is country belongs to the Vatican!"

"No it does not! You signed a treaty stating-"

Anderson throws two bayonets into Integra's guards, conjures up another pair and charges right at Integra.

"NOOO!" Seras calls out.

Integra pulls out her sabre at the last second and deflects the blows away. Anderson comes around for another pass with his left, Integra deftly positions herself away from the blow and parries Anderson's right.

I rip off my jacket and shirt, they've gone stiff with all the blood soaking into the material. Now, with my muscular torso and rebellious tattoos on full display… Where's that fucker, Anderson? I'm getting sick of his shit…

Integra finds herself pinned against the wall, "Looks like time's up for, time to face your sins!" Anderson wraps in her face, that psycho smile having never left his face.

"What have you done with Gabriel?!" she asks him.

"I impaled the impostor with my divine blades!"

The sweat is thoroughly beading on Integra's face. "He hasn't disintegrated yet?"

"No?"

Integra get a snippet of a glance over Anderson's shoulder to see Gabriel standing at the other end of the hallway, shirtless.

"Bonsoir, mes amis, am I late to the party? Let me rectify that. Releasing control restraints Alpha, Epsilon and Gamma." A burst of light erupts from Gabriel's heart." Everyone else is temporally blinded by the light. When it's settled, Gabriel smiles under his half concealing fringe. "Come, Father Anderson, it is time to dance!"

"Let's settle-" Anderson's face sinks when I reach out with my mind and start toying with reality. I extend the hallway so that the distance is several kilometres between us.

"Surprise, motherfucker!" I start to sprint and pulling the hallway back to normal length. I come face to face with, "Boo!" I say as I punch him in the gut. I follow up with low kick to his ribs, the I grab him by the scruff of his neck and smash him into a wall… more accurately through it.

I let him get his bearings. He stabs me in the gut. I grab it by the blade and pull it out. White light and crimson blood pours from the wound before it seals without leaving a mark. Anderson looks impressed,

"Maybe you aren't an impostor after all."

"To your credit, Father Anderson, it would take something supernatural to survive that number of blades." He makes another lunge at me, and I swat it aside. "Ah, fuck it! Vinculis ligandi!"

Anderson gives a confused glance, before trying to attack, when two chains pull him to the floor and two wrap around his ankles. "What Satanic magic is this?!"

"As much as it I want to, demonic magic is impossible for me to use, y'know since I'm an angel, and all that. It's a simple hard light binding spell."

"What?"

"I tied you to the floor with light that has physical properties." Integra approaches, while supporting Seras.

"Why are you here?" Integra demands

"Why should I tell you, ya Protestant whore?"

I slam my foot into his chest with bone crushing force, and it promptly heals, "Because you've got a neat healing factor that I will exploit until you talk."

"I still won't talk!"

"Then there's the pain charms…"

Integra catches on, "They might just be necessary." Anderson looks rather worried…

"So please answer the question."

"Alright, I was sent here to kill the vampire upstairs!"

"And did you?" I ask.

"Yes, about ten minutes before I met you and the girl."

Integra, Seras and I all look at each other, "Aren't ghouls supposed to die immediately after the master vampire has been killed?" Seras asks Integra.

She nods, even Anderson looks slightly perplexed. "Seras and I have been tearing our way through hordes of them since we entered the building… Alright, Anderson, scamper back to Rome." I retract the chains.

After Anderson gets up, he spits at my feet, "Don't you think this is the end of it!" He pulls out a book and flicks through, before pages start swirling around him, he vanishes in the vortex, leaving just us three of us.

"Fucking Catholics," I mutter to myself…


	7. The Call

**Integra POV**

I walk into the entrance foyer of the medical wing on the estate, it's been roughly twelve hours since our encounter with Anderson and I've only just got off the phone with the other Round Table representatives on why an Iscariot was able to infiltrate Northern Ireland and kill the vampire without us knowing, and how the ghouls didn't immediately die after his demise. That has been a particular point of interest in the Table's collective conscience, as well as most of the men and agents, our analytics team and mine. It didn't make sense, ghouls are tied to their master vampire no matter what, before this dealing with ghouls was a simple matter, kill the vampire.

I find myself outside Seras' ward, she's lying there listening to Gabriel regale her with tales of his exploits. The doctors say that she'll be out within the day, but they want her off-duty for another three just to make sure she recovers fully. I push in the door and enter, closing it behind me. Gabriel stops talking and rises from his chair, "Hello, Sir Integra, how are you?"

"I'm well, thank you. Seras, how are you feeling?"

"Mmm, not to bad, ma'am, still a little stiff," Seras responds with a smile.

"Good, and you," I look a Gabriel.

"Can't complain, I've had worse." I raise an eyebrow. "Try taking a stinger missile, while in mid-flight, not in a plane, and travelling at Mach 4. That hurt." Both Seras and I glare at him with awe. "I speak from experience." Silence persists… A phone starts vibrating. "It's mine, sorry." He gets up and leaves.

"How has your time at Hellsing been so far?"

"Alright, life hasn't been too bad since Cheddar."

"With all due respect Sir Integra," she straightens up as best she can, "demons and vampires are the real threat, I don't think I can turn my back on that. I feel that I can make a difference here alongside you and Gabriel. Back in London, I'd be taking in pickpockets and hooligans. Here, the methods might be brutal, but so are the enemies and as Gabriel put, what else can we do with, and their already dead."

I had long thought true British values long dead. I feel a spark rekindled in my spirit.

Gabriel come back "Sir Integra, I've got someone on the line for you," he holds up the smartphone…

I gasp, on the screen is a handsome man with dark hair, pale skin and blood red irises, "Hello, my master!" comes the cold, deep, slightly gravelly voice.

"Alucard, where are you?"

"In my quarters in Eden Fortress, currently awaiting orders. My hosts have been more than accommodating, but they don't seem to realise quite who they are dealing with."

"Alucard is a fictional character in my world, they probably have worked out you're a powerful vampire, but you're not the worst we've faced, a far cry from it, in fact," Gabriel interjects.

"Tara, Vanessa and Michael proved to be tough to overcome."

Gabriel flips the phone around, "You tried to fight them didn't you?"

"Yeas, when I first arrived I reacted poorly…"

"Damn right," a voice from somewhere near Alucard says.

"Then there was the escape attempt…" another voice says. Gabriel begins laughing.

"Alucard, hahaha, ya idiot, you tried to overpower two Nephilim? One of whom is a Bloodmage? As a vampire?" He continues in his hysterical laughter. "I mean she can control blood that has been spilled…"

"I do not appreciate how you mock me," Alucard says sadistically.

"I'm sorry, but I've been told _a lot_ about your power, and imagining Tara making you her bitch with the flick of her wrist is just simply, oh mon Dieu."

"Gabriel!" I snap at him.

"Pardon moi, Sir Integra."

Alucard growls, "Sir Integra, what are your orders?"

"It seems that the process that swapped you too is beyond our control, until you return, if ever, you are to serve Templars as you have served Hellsing, is that understood?"

"Yes, master, I am your humble servant."

"Good, that is all." Alucard bows.

"Alucard, put me back onto Tara would you, please?" Gabriel leaves again

"Well… so that's Alucard then," Seras says

"Yes, he's an interesting individual."

"How did Hellsing recruit such a creature?"

"How familiar are you with this organisations history?"

"A little, between missions and training, I've had hardly a moment to myself."

"We were founded by Abraham von Hellsing, my great-grandfather, he along Jonathan Harker, Mina Harker, and a few others rose up to stop an ancient and powerful vampire from overthrowing Britain, when he was defeated, he swore allegiance to von Hellsing, as a way to redeem himself."

"That vampire was Alucard?" I nod. Seras stares blankly at the wall in front of her bed. "Your great-grandfather must have been incredible."

"My father once met Jonathan, just before Jonathan hanged himself, he said the Abraham was a force of nature."

"Why did he kill himself?"

"Mina was killed while hunting a vampire, she and Alucard were tracking him when they were ambushed, Mina and Alucard got separated. Her body was recovered, buried, then it disappeared. Jonathan fell into depression, and hanged himself sometime later."

Seras looks up at me horrified, "That's awful."

I gaze at the ground, "That is the reality of our profession, to protect and serve while expecting no recognition for our fight. We serve in the darkness, and we fade into it when our service ends, soon ti be forgotten by all." She doesn't need to know the rest of the story. About Richard or my father.

"Tell me Seras, what is your story?"

"Umm, well, I lost my parents when I was young, my dad was a sergeant in the Met, and my mum was a maths teacher, that's all I really remember about them. I grew up in an orphanage. I joined up almost as soon as I left secondary school."

"Why?" I ask

"I wanted to help people, to protect and serve." She's not telling me something, I can fell it. Perhaps I shouldn't ask, might be very personal. I find my respect for the young woman swell.

Gabriel arrives back. "Good, now that we can talk, I have a new assignment for you."

"Huh, demons, or vampires?

"Both, we received word from a source that a local crime gang, led by the "Valentine Brothers", is running a series of ops out of night clubs in London, we fear they might be recruiting vampires, or members for a demon cult."

"Do we have lead?"

"Yes we do in fact, we have one of the brothers location. Carmine Valentine, the youngest, most decadent and foolish, go to him interrogate him and kill him."

"Blissfully simple," he wraps his knuckles on the wooden table by Seras' bed, "touch wood it stays that way."

"You'll be working with Agent Franklin."

"I look forward to this."


	8. Angel Unaware?

**Anna POV**

I pull up outside the manor. Gabriel is waiting outside the door and smoking, he dressed in a black peacoat, black and white checked shirt and dark jeans. He puts it out and walks over to my car. "Hows it going?"

"Good, you ready?" I reply.

He takes a final drag, drops it and stamps it out, "Yes, Sir Integra said we need to look like a pair of rich kids." Indeed, minidress, tights and calf boots, without heels. Just in case things go amiss.

"So we're taking my car." He flips a set of keys out of his pocket and clicks them. A fancy sports car responds. My jaw simply drops.

"You are kidding me."

He smiles slickly, "Nope, my brother and I are good at playing on Wall Street."

"You have a fortune?"

"I could live without working for about a century." He opens my door, "My lady, care to accompany on a little night hunt?"

"Yeah, let's go." I get out and he closes it behind me. He easily catches up to me, and opens the passenger door of his car. "Thank you," I say with a smile. He sits in beside me. The tan coloured leather seats are ridiculously comfortable.

"Like it?" I nod emphatically. He turns the key and the engine roars to life, he revs it a couple of times, much to my enjoyment, "wow…"

"Ah, yeah." He slams it into reverse…

He pulls up outside, Club Eden, Gabriel chortles, I frown, "The Templars HQ is in Eden." I nod, He opens his door and goes around, opens mine, he really goes out of his way, not that's a bad thing…

We interlock arms and approach the door. The large bouncer stops us, "Are you on the list?" Gabriel reaches into his coat and procures two tickets. The bouncer takes and examines them. "Mr Gideon Baxter and Ms Emma Granger?" We both nod. "Go right ahead, boss is expecting you." He beckons us through." We go to the end of a narrow corridor, to a lift. They playing music at low levels the whole time. We enter the lift and begin our ascent.

"Intel says he has two vampiric bodyguards, Edward and Bella. he'll have more security than that, however." I say to him.

"Obviously, I don't think he's that stupid."

The music from above gradually grows in volume. "What do you reckon?"

"This is a trap or he really _is _very stupid, neither of the other two are as conspicuous as this one."

The doors open and the music floods in, the thrumming bass and screaming treble fill the elevator. Dozens of people are dancing away the night. "I wouldn't mind a Jägerbomb." Gabriel says into my ear.

"I was thinking tequila?" Gabriel smiles

"I like the way you think." We approach the bar and I catch the attention of one of the staff.

"We're here to see the boss." She goes away and returns with a manager.

"Names?"

"Emma Granger and Gideon Baxter," I say

He nods, "I'll pass on the word, can I get'ya some drinks while you wait."

"Yeah, a Jägerbomb and my lady friend will have?" Gabriel says in a classy American accent. I conceal my astonishment at this.

"I'll have a vodka and coke." The bar manager nods and sets about it. "Neat accent."

"I've had to do impersonations before, it's not that hard." The bar man returns with the drinks. Gabriel pays. I pour my coke, and Gabriel fills his with Red Bull. "Cheers." Our glasses collide with a _ching. _I take a deep drink and Gabriel just downs his in one.

A moment later, a tall, slightly below-average looking guy with gold eyes and wearing a nice suit approaches, "Ms Granger, Mr Baxter, come with me, Carmine will see you now." He sounds like he's a really bad actor or something. His tone is too devoid of feeling. We both follow him towards the back of the club. He leads us through a set of mahogany double-doors, into a quieter area. "This way." He's so _wooden. _We pass a few guys in suits. Probably extra guards.

He takes us down to another mahogany door. "Here we are." He pushes it open, and stands to the side casting apathetic eyes around the place. He closes it after we pass through.

Carmine sits on the opposite side in a white suit with a black shirt, with white powder around his nose and mouth. "Ah, come in, come in. Take a seat." He wraps his arm around a large-busted girl in a one-pice corset. "So you want in on our little scene, I can do that for ya," he downs a shot of some brown booze. "Just so ya know, once you're in, there's no way out. But who gives two flying pigs fucking in mid-flight." Real classy, Gabriel isn't that impressed either. "You'll be immortal so you can do whatever the fuck you WANT and no one will be able to stop you." Hellsing aside, that is. "'Coz you can just drink their fucking blood man! I mean, how fucking awesome is that! And you'll have exclusive rights to all the private sections of our clubs, all the booze and blood you could ever ask for, plus all the bitches you could ever want to fuck in any _way _you want! Ain't that right, sweetie." He buries his head into the hoe's chest, she just moans professionally.

"Sure thing." I glance around the room and see no one else, except the guy who brought us in, Edward most likely, with his arm around a brunette who looked like she would rather be elsewhere.

"Right, when do ya want to do this?" Carmine asks.

Gabriel mutters something and smiles, "First I'd like to ask a few questions."

"Sure go ahead," Carmine says with sweep of his hand.

"First off, where are your siblings, Jan and Luke?"

"I'm sorry, I can't share that."

"Okay, who do you guys work for?"

"No one!"

I rise, "You've kept under the radar for along time, and someone like you needs someone to cover up your antics. Now who are you working for?"

"We look out for each other, now I'm gonna ask you to leave." Carmine looks worried.

Gabriel rises also and does his teleport quickdraw, both of his machine pistols appearing in his hands instantly. He turns around and points them at the two bodyguards. I pull out my Crusader and point it at Valentine…

_Bang_

The door is blown off its hinges, and four other security guards burst in. Gabriel aims and fires with his left I try to shoot Carmine, but he throws his entire desk up into my face and makes a runner. I feel someone bashing into my back and I find myself pinned to the ground with Edward holding me in an arm lock. Two other guards pointing guns at my head. "Deal with these fuckers, I'm outta here!" He immediately sprints away.

Gabriel has backed up against the back wall. His eyes dart around the room. He bites his lower lip. I struggle against my captor, "Stop, or I dislocate your shoulder." He pushes my arm further up and I wince against the strain. Gabriel bends down and places his guns in front of himself. Please, don't give up… I'm not becoming a goddamned ghoul. I can make out Gabriel's lips moving.

He grins and a grenade appears in his hand. He pulls the out the pin and lets the grenade fall to the ground.

It goes off with a bang, my ears ring and I'm blinded by brilliant white light. I can just about make out the sounds of gunshots as the din fades, and the pressure on my shoulder suddenly disappears.

I turn over and sit up, and feel a hand on my shoulder, I jump and see Gabriel looking down at me. "You okay?"

"You just dropped a flash bang."

"True, but did that prick hurt you?"

I turn around and see two or three bodies lying on the ground, the guys we saw earlier while Edward was leading us to Carmine. "Nothing serious, we have to move. Integra will be really pissed off if we come back with nothing." Gabriel nods and I draw my Crusader. He reloads and we leave the office, weapons at the ready.

We come back the way we came without encountering any other security. "I hate when things get quiet, always means trouble, without fail, in a millennium of this shit, silence equals trouble," Gabriel mutters under his breath.

We burst out the door. My dress turns red from scores of laser-sights attached to the guns of a group who look like they're armed to kill bears. "Well,… fuck it, I was right, why am I always right about this?" Gabriel mumbles.

"Good evening, my brother," a gentile and soothing voice calls out. I look up at Gabriel, who's clenching his jaw. "Long time, no see." A man of Gabriel's height with fabulous, delicate, pale skin, and steel blue eyes. His neatly pressed suit and long-coat accented with an ebony cane, emerges from the crowd. All the civvies are gone, good.

"Lucifer…" Gabriel says with venom dripping from his lips.

"How are you?"

"Can't complain." Gabriel steps forward, holding his guns tightly.

"Good, good, I see you're still campaigning for these ants."

"They have every right to their own destiny, as much as we do."

"Huhahaha, you were always so soft. Compassion for these shambling sacks of meat and bones who rot before any thing lasting has been built."

"Yet they strive of their own accord, they seek to build upon what they did before. They reach for that which they do not know."

Lucifer approaches me, I get full view of his finely chiseled features, "So weak, so soft, so_ pliable__…_" I feel myself becoming moist at his words, and I'm taking short gasps of breath. Jesus Christ, but I'd have him right now, with everyone watching, I don't care. Allure just oozes from his pours.

"Yet, you and your ilk love so much to take 'ants' to bed. I suppose when my brother and I take the best fruit from the tree…" Lucifer looks around him with confusion. Gabriel walks towards him and whispers, "Lilith."

"You can keep the slut," Lucifer snarls. "I was always too good for her."

"All those love poems." I jolt back to reality and feel slightly lightheaded… and very conscious of Lucifer's manipulations.

"I have no I idea what you're taking about…"

"'Oh Lilith your eyes are like amethysts, eh, eh, eh… and your… your skin! Yes, your skin is like the finest silk.'" Lucifer is looking quite flushed.

"Shut up!" Lucifer snaps.

"Lucifer, why don't you just fucking shoot him?" Carmine shouts from the back. Idiot hasn't left, he needs to die, for his own stupidity more than anything else

Gabriel looks at him with absolute incredulity, "While he's in the firing line?" The annoying little turd at least has the decency to look embarrassed. "But he has a point." Gabriel raises his pistols to Lucifer's face. Every other gun in the room get trailed on him.

I feel a nudging at edge of my mind. "_Get ready to reposition, you__'__re gonna flank them. I__'__ll kill this fucker and take the hit from his goons. You go after-__" _

He's sent flying across the room by Lucifer. Gabriel disentangles himself from several ruined tables, fairly soon afterwards. "When did you learn how to do that?"

"I've always been able to, I just never gave it my all."

"Not only is that not true, and if I remember correctly someone has brought you back from the dead. So you didn't even 'give it your all' when Florian tore you to shreds, you let yourself die. This leaves three possibilities, you are, one, suicidal, two, the most arrogant prick alive, _ever_, three, too dumb to live."

"KILL HIM!" Lucifer screams.

I dive behind a concrete pillar and draw my Crusader. The massive din of their guns firing as they rip through Gabriel is deafening. I pop up and take out about five before having to reload. They immediately run cover, and divide their fire between, after reloading. I take a peak from behind my pillar and see Gabriel crumble to dust before my eyes. I sink back down…

"Salut!" Gabriel says right beside me.

I leap out of my skin. What… how? "You need to tell me you're going to pull shit like that!"

"No time, I just had to act, sorry though. It was an illusion." He springs up and sends a spray of shots from his machine pistols at Lucifer's men. "Okay, time to plan. Eighteen of Lucifer's servants are still standing, plus Carmine and Lucifer. Try to avoid Lucifer, he's a fallen archangel, it'll be like fighting me, you'll be slaughtered, or he'll use that sex charm from earlier," I shudder and cringe at that, "and all that stuff I said was to piss him off. He's hot-headed, rash and vain, just saying."

"You really have a large bag of tricks"

"It's still not enough. You ready?"

I check my ammo, and nod.

"Time to dance," Gabriel says with a confident smile. We break from our cover and make for our respective flanks. Gabriel lays down a hail of covering fire, tearing through several tables that they were using as concealment, their death dreams ring out across the room. I can make out about three of four bodies. I come around and find a couple of goons waiting for me. I aim and shoot both in the chests. I duck behind a booth as three more come. I peek out and pop a couple of shots, one of them get hit in the side, he goes down and the other two scramble for cover. I can hear shouting. I glance over to Gabriel who is currently next to the DJ booth. Dealing serious beatdowns to whoever dares to come close, scything the rest with his guns. I gotta catch up… quick. I spring up and put two more out of business.

I find my perceptions of the world slow to almost a standstill… Five of Lucifers minions take aim and open fire. I weave in between them and return the favour, killing them one-by-one, with one shot to the head each. Reloading twice on the last round, how can I even count that fast? The last one drops.

I feel a punch sail into my face. I get knocked back a little, before launching flurry of kicks and punches that sends my aggressor tumbling to the floor… it's Edward. He rolls onto his shoulders and throws himself to his feet. His face is plastered in his own blood. I also feel warmth running over my lips. Edward stares up at me greedy eyes while licking his lips. This is the most emotion that he has shown so far…

He leaps at and dive for my pistol. He misses and topples to ground in a heap. I stand up, walk over and clock him with my pistol on the head, he falls flat on his face. I roll him over onto his back with my foot. Pin him inlace with said. "In the name of God, impure souls of the living dead shall be banished into eternal damnation, amen." I put a silver tipped bullet in between his eyes.

I pick myself up take stock… Lucifer and Carmine have disappeared, Gabriel is shocked from my display and all the goons are dead. "Where the _fuck _did you learn to do that?"

"I honestly don't know…" I respond equally shocked.

"Doesn't matter, Carmine and Lucifer have bailed, let's go, they can't have gone far."

We make our way to the roof and look around, "There!" Gabriel points to two fleeing silhouettes.

"I can't catch them…"

He places his hand on my shoulder, it starts glowing white, I feel the same sensation as before. I feel ready, his magic making me superhuman. "Ma chère, you can do it once, you can do it again." He begins to run across the rooftops like he's hopping across a stream. I follow, finding that whatever he did it has brought me to his level and soon catch up to him.

We close the distance with haste. "Those fuckers from Hellsing are still alive, you said those boys would stop them!" Carmine shouts at Lucifer.

"They should have!"

Gabriel sighs with exasperation, "We have fought _ten_ times, one would think that he'd learn that goons don't work on me." They jump over across a street and we follow as fast as we can. Carmine begins to slow down and we gain on him. I reach him first and tackle him to the ground. Gabriel conjures another pistol, easily his biggest, it's gotta be fifty centimetres. "Hey, Lucifer, remember the Duelist?!" The gun produces a thunderous crack, the slide shoots back and blows Gabriel's arm back with the recoil.

The shot strikes Lucifer in the chest, his blood sprays everywhere, he then disintegrates. "So, Mr Valentine… I'm Agent Gabriel Sinclair and this Agent Anna Franklin of the Hellsing Organisation, we now own your ass, so you're gonna talk, or else," he flicks out a huge Bowie knife from under his coat, "I turn you into a piece of abstract art."

"All right, all right! I don't know the name of the guy we take orders from, he goes to Jan and Luke. All I know is that he's fucking german, and he's fucking messed up, dude! I swear!" Gabriel looks fairly convinced he's telling the truth.

"Okay, where is Jan and Luke?"

"Like I would sell out my own brothers, fuck you shithead!"

Gabriel puts away the knife, "You can go."

Carmine looks distinctly surprised, but doesn't say anything, thank Christ. He just gets up and leaves.

Gabriel reloads the "Duelist" and fires it at the back of Carmine's head, "and leave a thorn that can sting me again? I think not, and I had orders."

Back at Hellsing Manor.

We stand in Integra's office with her and Walter, "This is very grave news…"

"Yes, Sir Integra, it seems that we have at least one soldier of Hell against us."

"And the only useful information you could extract from Carmine was the nationality and mental state of his employer?" Walter asks

Gabriel nods. "One last thing, Anna displayed a burst of superhuman ability while we were engaging Lucifer's troops, she pulled off the kind of manoeuvring I would expect of a cambion or nephilim."

"Really, how so?"

"I killed ten men in ten shots, while they were shooting at me with assault rifles and I didn't take a single hit, then I killed a vampire in close-quarters-combat."

"Fascinating…" Walter interjects.

"Could she be one?" Integra asks.

"I don't know, she could be either."

"This has never happened before," I mention.

"I know," Integra responds.

"We should be wary, if she unlocks her Soul Name, it could be uncontrolled and violent. It's a little different when it happens naturally."

Integra nods, "You may go."

We leave the room and Gabriel walks me back to my car, where he, once again, opens the door for me. "I hope you're not too shaken by Lucifer's little mind trick," He says with a soft eye, he keeps the other covered by a silver fringe. He leans against the side of my car.

"No, it's okay, I'm fine. It's just a little shocking to be so… easily… twisted around his finger."

"He's very good a mental manipulation, but he's not actually that powerful in a stand up fight, relative to say my brother or me, doesn't mean to say he's any less the dangerous. I'm still more concerned about Moloch, however. He's a lot stronger in direct combat, and he's completely dedicated to it."

"Could that be the german guy Carmine referred to?"

"No, Moloch always liked appearing as a Spaniard, and that's not important, at very minimum, Lucifer wants to cause another Confluence Event, and I wouldn't put it past Moloch to be helping him."

"This is going to get bad, really fast…"

"Looks _very _likely."


	9. She Just Did What!

**A/N: Just to warn you, there's quite a lot of fluff building in this chapter, it may be little dull to read but it's important in a lot of ways. Read & Review please ;P**

I enter the practice range to find Seras and Gabriel practicing. Gabriel is firing his select-fire anti-materiel bullpup rifle, he says that it's standard-issue to cambions and nepilim, the standard Templars use 10X82mm assault rifles, according to him that's the bare minimum needed. Makes me shudder to think about it.

Seras, on the hand is practicing with her Crusader, the guns looks a little big the 5'7 girl, with her seemingly natural, but exaggerated measurements. "Hey Gabriel," I call out. He doesn't hear me and I have to tap him on the shoulder. He jolts a little that takes off his ear muffs.

"Hey, hows it going?" He places his rifle on a table behind him.

"I'm fine, I was just coming in for a little target practice." He nods. Seras has lowered her gun and comes over to us.

"Alright, Anna?" she asks.

"Okay, you feeling better after your brush with Anderson?"

"I was okay by the next day, ya know, doctors wanted to be sure." I smile and nod. Gabriel yawns, he looks exhausted actually, "Gabriel, you okay?"

"Been worked like a slave for the past couple of months, between training Seras, the other agents, plus the strike team in anti-angel and anti demonic warfare and performing field duties, the lack of sleep is finally catching up with me."

"Ya look it," I say with a smile

He yawns and rubs his face, "Integra says that I can have this weekend off, if anyone wakes me before noon tomorrow, I will put a bullet in their head. Anyway, you seem to be bright and spritely this morning."

"That's 'cause I can sleep, what about you Seras?"

"Same as you, I beat Gabriel in hand-to-hand today, badly."

"She pulled a magnificent move that would leave me on my ass when I'm well rested, I think I've said enough," Gabriel says with a smile that's equal parts shame and pride. He pats Seras on the back and she smiles appreciatively up at him, she's about a foot shorter than he is. "I think another month and she'll be ready for initiation."

"Very good, will there be a party?"

"In true Templar fashion, we all head out for a night and make sure none of us can remember what happened the next day." I giggle at Gabriel's little suggestion. "What's the chance that we get Integra to come along?" There's dead silence for a second, then we descend into fits of laughter… it seems almost surreal to picture Integra at a nightclub, or even a pub for that matter. "I'm serious, we should show that woman how to lighten up!" Seras and I can't help but laugh even more.

"Sounds like fun," I say.

"As the Templar's resident connoisseur of revelry, we can make Bacchus blush."

I smile, "Hubris, tsk tsk…"

"May the god strike me down where I stand!" Gabriel shouts while throwing his arms wide and remain silent for a moment, "No, nothing… pussies."

By God, this man know no bounds.

Seras checks her watch, "I think I'm gonna go grab a bite, see ya later."

Gabriel waves at her.

"You doing anything this weekend?" I ask him.

"Sleep is first on the agenda, after that I'm free, why?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to head out for an afternoon, get to know each other a little better, get some coffee, ya know."

"Uhh, I'd love to. Will I pick you up, or…?"

"With a ride like yours, hell yes."

"Great, will I go to your apartment, or will you come here?"

"Mine, I'll give you the address."

"C'est bon. I look forward to it." I smile, I the way he shifts between English and French cute. I smile.

"Me, too."

Seras POV

I sit down at the dining table with a bowl of vegetable soup and a bread role. I take my first spoonful and the door opens and Integra walks in on her own. I rise quickly, nearly banging my knee on the table, "Good afternoon, Sir Integra."

"Good afternoon, Seras, how are you? You can sit down now." I do so

"I'm okay, just did some target practice with Gabriel."

"How did you two do?"

"He didn't do very well, ma'am. I think his exhaustion is affecting him a lot. I got a near perfect score, though."

She chortles in her velvety voice, "Yes, he does look tired and you"

"Is there something I can help you with?"

"No, not really, I just came to talk."

"Um, well, what did you want to talk about?"

She sits down and stares out the window, "Nothing in particular, I just finished some paperwork, still have another pile to sort through, and the Round Table is breathing down my neck about the appearance of Lucifer."

"You sound like you could use a holiday."

"Yes, actually… that would be nice. Somewhere warm, and quiet, that's the most important part. No cities, no noise," she turns and smiles at me, "no vampires." We chuckle.

"I think a trip to a vila in the French Riviera would do the trick, well for me anyway," I say with a smile.

"Haha, yes, that sounds lovely."

"Running this place sounds tough."

"Yes, I've been doing this for ten years, since I was twelve…"

I gasp, "You were only a child!"

"Indeed, and I had much to learn then, less so now. I took over when my father died… but that's a story for another time."

"So you never had a chance to be a teenager?"

"Not really, I was always working or studying, like I said, I still had much to learn."

"Where did you go to school?"

"I was educated here, on the estate, I didn't have many friends, a couple from the Round Table families, but that's all. I always wondered about the outside world, beyond the walls, fences and gates that enclosed me."

"Like what, there's millions who'd love to have a place like this."

"When I was young, the playground, when I was older, bars, nightclubs and all that."

"To be honest, nightclubs are only good for the first couples of times, after that they get kind of boring, and they're very loud, and people tend to forget how to behave." Why is talking to this woman so easily? I mean, with any other person of her calibre and I'd be stammering.

"Maybe not for me then?" She raises an eyebrow. I smile and chuckle.

"No, maybe not," I respond.

"Still nothing like firsthand experience, do you mind if I smoke?"

"Uh, no, not really." She reaches in and pulls out her cigarillo case, she removes one, cuts one end off and lights it.

She leisurely blows out her first drag. She checks her watch. "Is it that time already?" She sighs tiredly. "I must go." She gets up and walks over to me…

And pecks me on the cheek. She then smiles at me sweetly and leaves the room. I feel all of my blood leap into my face. I'm breathless, did she just… she did.

I'm overreacting, I must be. I look down at my soup. I'm not feeling that hungry anymore…

**Gabriel POV **

"Can I see your rifle?" Anna asks me.

"Sure." I hand it to her.

"Wow, it's really… goddamn… heavy." She grabs it by the grip and lifts it up so she can aim down the sights.

"We use these when we need to kill demons and angels, yesterday. The design is based on the experimental XM500."

"Those aren't out of testing yet, are they?"

"No, we used published pictures and worked out the rest, has to be said we had it out in six months with most creases ironed out."

"That's quick."

"We used the same mechanism from a Barret .50 Cal and stuck it in a modified XM500 body and loaded it with silver tips and called it the TAM501 Automatic Anti-Materiel Rifle, its even patented."

"TAM?"

"Templar Arms, our weapons division, most of our weapons aren't made by other weapons manufacturers, and the rest are derivative designs, and 'M' is for model."

"I wanna shot it."

We set up a target and Anna takes aim down the sights.

She puts round right in the dead centre of the target dummy's chest. "Nice shot," I say.

"The recoil is a killer." She stands up from the kneeling position humans need to fire such huge weapons.

"Yeah, that thing is within upper limit of what I can fire on the move, even full auto is difficult to handle." I yawn loudly.

"You really are tired."

"Yeah, been modifying Hellsing's equipment to detect demons and angels, in addition to everything else, simple enchantments, but I had to do _everything_."

"Really?"

"The enchantments don't affect normal functions, just add a feature. I said that to Integra and she said I had better get on with it."

"Hahaha, word to the wise, don't tell your boss things like that."

"She would have found out one way or another, then I'd have been in deep shit."

"True."

"Anyway it's done."

"Tell me about angels."

"Where should I begin?"

"What parts are true and what are not."

"Well, we were the servants of the Judaeo-Christian God. While we served him we had no true free will, we always have been are individuals, but until Confluence in our Universe we had no free will. It wasn't that we had some oath of loyalty or indoctrination from birth, we had to do what He and our superiors said compulsively, like a basic survival instinct. Also we were defined by violence. We lived to kill demons, that's all we were good for." Anna looks up at me with horror. "However some of us found ways to escape, mine was that I was kicked out of Heaven and into Limbo for telling Jesus that he was an arrogant prick, while inebriated, but it was my honest opinion bluntly and crushingly delivered, he nearly cried by the time I was done. Then I found my way to a group of knights who had sworn to fight demons. While in Limbo, I contacted them, along with my brother, Michael, they agreed to allow us into Earth, and gave us two unborn twins as vessels."

"You possessed children?"

"Not like that, we simply took the place of the souls that would have otherwise occupied them. They were conceived then at the appropriate stage we entered in as their souls. We used magic to modify them to be suitable to our needs. We set our powers to unlock at certain stages of development, that's the story of how I was freed and became a cambion. Before that I was the Messenger of God to humanity, and before that I clawed up the ladder from legionnaire to archangel."

"There's a hierarchy?"

"Yep, Legionnaire, Principes, Powers, Ophanium, Potestas, Archai, Dominationes, Cherubim, Seraphim and finally at the top; archangels, those are the Templar designations, from lowest to highest. We're a species wide military."

"Is that the case now?"

"No, both angels are trying to find a way to carry on without a definitive leader. Currently we are governed by an elected council, as are the demons. Many now wander around looking for purpose. We were born and bred warriors, many of us never imagined that we'd ever have to choose our own path, we'd always thought that it would be dictated to us by someone higher than us. The demons have adjusted far better, many have turned around and set about building a better world for themselves. Which is ironic, when you look at it."

"Yeah, I thought the demons would have collapsed."

"Actually that's the angels' greatest strength and weakness, we operate as unit. We move as one. Watching angels in combat is like watching a work of art, Sun Tzu would weep with pride. We move and strike as one in perfect coordination. That however relies on a strict Command and Control system. Remove that and we cave like a castle built on sand. The demons are our equal and opposite, they much more individualistic and better at seizing the initiative. They are innate guerrilla fighters. They flow like water, with malleable plans and command structures. This led to the assumption among humans that angels were agents of order and demons of anarchy. This is not true, like I said, we crush with finality, the demons duck and dive and whittle you away to nothing with constant small operations and forces spread over large areas. We are two sides of the same coin."

"That is weird, but I suppose makes perfect sense."

"That's why I love being human. You have both abilities inside you, the discipline and the anarchy. Okay, sometimes it can be hard to balance it, but nothing is perfect, same as angels, God, demons and Satan." I feel myself becoming progressively tired, but I shall persevere until she is happy that I have answered all her questions.

"Are you okay, we can continue this another time."

"No, you're okay. As a new demon and angel hunter you need to know this."

"Alright, cambions and nephilim, tell me about them."

"They are the terms used to denote hybrids. Cambions are angel-human or demon-human hybrids. The weakest cambions are on par with a well trained human soldier in terms of physical prowess, and about an average human in terms of intelligence. The higher up you go the more powerful we become. Since I'm an archangel, I am among the most powerful, at my level cracking a planet and destroying it is possible, though heavily exhausting, and would most likely kill me. Also my physical strength, stamina and toughness are way beyond human. Nephilim are angel-demon hybrids, and are always at very minimum as powerful as seraphim cambions, in magical talent and physical prowess. Capable of levelling nations at their full potential, depending on the school of magic they specialise in, Tara, for example is a powerful bloodmage, or if you want to be pretentious and pompous, sanguimagus. She is capable of dealing huge damage, but she needs spilt blood to fuel it. But she can't just unleash huge spells that devastate cities, because the power in blood is a lethal to the user as it is to the opponent. One single mistake and can cause that stroke spell to hit you. It fact it's a better support school, as you can transfer life-force from the blood, either strengthening them or healing them, or yourself."

"Does she use human blood?"

"No, she uses pig, horse and cow blood. Pig is best for healing, horse for enhancing and cow for offensive spells."

"What kind of magic do you use?"

"At lower levels, Ghosting, so phasing through walls and turning invisible. I can manipulate gravity to large extent at any level, as that is how angels fly in this world. I keep my wings clipped, as they make sitting down an issue. I can summon them at anytime if I need to fly. Though gravity manipulation is mostly used for running along walls and ceilings, using it against others means creating areas of high-gravity that pull you in as well. I also use it to generate forcefields. When at higher levels I gain access to hard-light control. I can summon blades of it, shields, all sorts of things, it's also one of the most draining schools in existence. The disintegration that happens when I 'die' can also be done voluntarily, allowing me to travel through vents, but needs calm weather to be used outside, wind can blow me off course by miles."

"Quite be repertoire you've got there," she says

I chuckle, "Indeed, madamoiselle, I've spoken enough."

"Okay, you've heard my story."

"Not how you became involved with Hellsing."

She sighs, "I suppose I could tell you. It was when I was just out of college, a best friend of mine got a boyfriend. There was always something off about him, like he wasn't always quite right in the head." I can see where this is going. "About six months since then she dies in an animal attack, in the woods. He was with her but that he claimed he ran. Then he shows up in the middle of the night at my apartment. He tells me that he's a vampire and that I'm his next victim, after my friend. He tries to attack me but I make a lot of noise and thrash about the place so he bails before the cops show up. I had known that girl since childhood, she was like a sister to me. I… I swore vengeance against him and started hunting vampires."

"I've heard a lot of stories like this, but go on, if you want too, I know just how stressful sharing this sort of thing is."

"I quickly learned that silver stakes through the heart of a vampire was the best way to kill them and to strike during daylight when they slept. About a year and a half later, I found that bastard. I couldn't catch him while he slept, as he had a gang of ghouls to protect him, so I took them out one by one, and when he was on his own I moved in to make the kill. As I approached his apartment, Alucard came out. I froze, he seemed so unnatural. I'll never forget that face or his eyes. He swept towards me, and said, 'What are you doing here, girl?' I backed away and he noticed the stake in my hand, 'Killing vampires are we? A mere human girl killing the creatures of the night, it's almost romantic.' Then he laughed, and it was so horrible. 'Is this your first?' he asked me. I said 'no'. 'How many have you killed?' he asked again 'Ten or twelve, maybe,' I stammered out." She has my rapt attention. "'Impressive, you have skill, when do you strike?' 'During daylight, when they are asleep.' 'Very clever, sneak into their rooms while they sleep and ram a stake throughout their hearts. I commend you. Come with me.' That was the last thing he said to me before he brought me to Integra. Then I was chucked into the Hellsing training program, after that I joined Company C and then an agent was killed in the field, I went for the position and obtained it, and here I am."

"That's almost a stereotypical story where I come from, getting someone close to you killed by a vampire, angel or demon or whatever, vowing to slay the killer and either continuing on as a vigilante or giving up. We found out who many of them were and frequently recruited them into our ranks. Tell me, how did you obtain a silver stake and how did you fund yourself?"

"I had just graduated and my parents were reasonably wealthy, I never lacked money, and I went in to do my Masters. I bought some silver bars and found and payed a silversmith to make two stakes, and payed him a little extra not to ask any questions. I found some occult bookstores and read a _lot _of vampiric lore. Most of it turned out to be true."

"In my world it's the opposite, but that's because demons used vampirism as a control mechanism to control followers. They give you pseudo-immortality, you are ageless and immune to disease, but you must leech your eternal life off others. Demons also used magic to turn blood into a narcotic, you could survive on normal blood, but the treated was more satisfying, to the point that vampires suffered withdrawal symptoms when derived off it for too long, it was an effective interrogation technique. It should be noted that our vampires are living humans with a special dietary requirement, than undead monsters. We just used the term 'vampire' because it's familiar to the most people, really 'bloodsucker' is better."

"Wait, interrogation technique?"

"Co-operate and you get the sweet stuff, don't and we deprive you of it and you get normal stuff, had the greatest success rate, and was one the least invasive methods."

"What about if the vampire simply told you what you wanted you to hear?"

I tap my temple a couple of times, "mind reading charms, if they lie we know about it, and only Templars are able to use magic in our holding cells." She nods. "Anyway enough talking about vampires…"

In a dark alley in London, under an overcast night sky, two men stand facing each other, one held an envelope, he was dressed in a black suit, in his late seventies and wore a monocle, the other was young, handsome with long blond hair that reached his buttocks, tied off with white ribbon, while dressed in an impeccable white suit.

"Do you have the information our boss requested?" The young man asks in a refined American accent.

"Indeed," the older fellow responds in an equally refined English accent. He hands over the envelope. "Our employer will be pleased," a sinister grin sneaking across his lined face.

"Oh yes, he will be…"


End file.
